Building Your Dream Home - Part 1

Article by: Mark J. Donovan

For most of my adult life I had thought about someday building , Concrete Mixers - Types Of Concrete Mixersmy Dream Home. , Termite Bait System - Not For My House Several years ago I finally got the chance. I had purchased a lake front lot with a small cottage on it. My initial intention was to use the property , Picking A Kitchen Countertop You Can Live With"as is"¬Ě, and someday raze the old cottage and build a new home , Dishwasher Belt Ė Don't Let It Slipin its place. , 5 Ways to Decide if a Bathroom Remodel Makes Sense After a couple of weekends in the musty old camp I came to the conclusion that I needed to speed up my timetable.

Part of the dream in building , 6 Mistakes to Avoid When Choosing a Carpet Cleanermy own home , Relax in a Hammockwas to act as the General Contractor , Linoleum Flooring: The Truth about Today's Linoleumand to personally supply a great deal of sweat equity. I accomplished both of these goals, however it was not easy. There were many roadblocks and bends in the road along the way. In the subsequent parts of this chronology, I will review my experiences in hopes that others may gain from my experiences.

Determining the Home , Framing Old MirrorsStyle and Size

After making the decision to raze the cottage and build a new home, , Decorating Roll Up Bamboo Shades I had to first determine what type and size of home , Picking A Kitchen Countertop You Can Live Withto build. My lot was limited in size and required careful planning to ensure that I would meet all of the setbacks governed by the town I lived in. Although I had these concerns, I decided to forgo the Architect route. I deemed it too expensive and probably not necessary for the style of home , 5 Ways to Decide if a Bathroom Remodel Makes SenseI wanted to build. Instead I picked up a handful of Home , D…COR WITH A THEMEPlan magazines and surfed the internet , Using Reflective Roofing Materialsfor home , Affordable Saunas Really Do Existdesigns. I also picked up an inexpensive software package for designing homes , Teak Furniture Outdoor or Indoor Use?and floorplans. After a week of reviewing home , Complying With the OH&S Act by Testing and Tagging Electrical Appliances in Accordance of AS3760plans, I found one that met most of my requirements in terms of a floorplan. The footprint was smaller than I wanted, but I concluded that I could redraw the floor , Choosing The Right Custom Mailboxesplan accordingly using my newly purchased Home , Common Sense Fire SafetyDesign Software Package.

The Home , A Guide to Choosing Your Flooring MaterialDesign Software package was not as simple to use as the instruction manual implied, however after a couple of weeks I had a floorplan with all the dimensional information. , Effective Air Conditioners - 9 Ways to Cut Your Energy Bill by Half

Assuming the role as the General Contractor

As I had indicated earlier, one of my goals was to assume the role as General Contractor , Relax in a Hammockon this project. I quickly learned that banks frown upon lending construction mortgages to everyday homeowners and to folks who have little professional building , A Guide to Choosing Your Home Flooring Materialexperience. I got around this issue by deciding not to use the banks for financing. However, from what I learned later, it may have been possible for me to assume a construction mortgage if I had quit my day job and applied for the loan as a "full time General Contractor"¬Ě. Indeed, I would have needed to complete a full proposal to the bank with all costs and subcontractors identified, but this is necessary anyways.

As the General Contractor , Effective Air Conditioners - 9 Ways to Cut Your Energy Bill by HalfI developed a build schedule and task list. Some of the top items included: Identifying subcontractors, pulling permits, and having a septic design , Cheap Bedroom Decorating Ideasapproved.

Carefully Pick your Sub-Contractors

Identifying the right subcontractors is the most important task a General Contractor , Wool Carpeting For Your Homeperforms. Poor selection of subcontractors can lead to delays in schedules, cost overruns, poor workmanship and strife between the various subcontractors on the job. Prior to hiring subcontractors, it is important to visit their current jobsites. Review their work on existing jobsites and mingle with the other subs to judge the working relationship. In addition get two or three reference checks on the subcontractors. If there are poor workmanship, personality issues, or references move on. Do not settle for second rate subs, even if it means slipping your schedule or costs goals, as you will more than likely suffer even larger schedule slips or higher costs by hiring the wrong people.

Pulling Permits

Once you have selected and hired your excavator, chief framer, and foundation company, review with them your plans. , Faux Fireplace, on the Cheap! Make sure you walk the site with them, and carefully stake out the house , Classic home decorating with empire furniturefootprint, paying careful attention to lot setbacks, septic tanks, leach fields and well location. , Solar Power: Becoming America's Choice Once all are agreed upon with the house , 5 Ways to Decide if a Bathroom Remodel Makes Senseplans and the location , Framing Old Mirrorsof the home, , Choosing The Right Custom Mailboxes contact the building , Changing Tastes - The Appeal Of The Orientinspector and review with him/her your plans. , Faux Fireplace, on the Cheap! You will need to submit a very thorough package to the building , Concrete Mixers - Types Of Concrete Mixersinspector prior to getting approval. There are frequently town and state forms that need to be filled out regarding wetlands, and home , The Ultimate Kitchen Sink Buying Guidethermal analysis. In addition, detailed engineering drawings of the proposed home , How to Install Shinglesmay be required. In my case the Framer was able to assist in developing additional sketches of the house , Carpet Cleaning Tips And Secretsplan to ensure structural compliance to local, , Teak Furniture Outdoor or Indoor Use? state and federal building , Affordable Saunas Really Do Existcodes. If I had used the initial home , Reduce The Cost Of Heating Your With Solar Powerplans I had obtained, those would have been sufficient. I also could have contacted an architect with my selected plans , Picking A Kitchen Countertop You Can Live Withto provide additional details, however it was not necessary in my case.

After about a week and several hundred dollars later I had the permit to build a new home. , Classic decorating with empire furniture

Septic Design

My home , Log s - What's Different About Log Homes?required its own septic system on site. As a result, I required a septic design , Classic home decorating with empire furnitureand an associated permit for the new home. , Changing Tastes - The Appeal Of The Orient I recommend pursuing this as early as possible in any new home , A Guide to Choosing Your Flooring Materialproject as this can take up to 2-3 months to complete as both town and state approvals are required, not to mention site and engineering work.

Without knowing exactly where the septic system and tank will reside, it may be difficult to locate the exact position of the home , How To Make Your Own Roman Shadesand in many cases the building , Concrete Mixers - Types Of Concrete Mixersinspector may not approve the building , Cheap Bedroom Decorating Ideaspermit until the septic design , A Guide to Choosing Your Home Flooring Materialpermit has been obtained. I was fortunate in that the property , Effective Air Conditioners - 9 Ways to Cut Your Energy Bill by Halfalready had a small septic system on the lot, so the building , Best Top Rated Handheld Shower Headinspector gave me approval. I was at financial risk, however, in the event the new septic design , Carpet Cleaning Tips And Secretswas not approved or needed to be repositioned from the proposed location. , Choosing The Right Fireplace To Increase The Value Of Your Home!!! Fortunately that was not the case and I was able to move forward on razing the cottage and beginning site work.

To Be Continued "¬¶.

In Part 2 of "Building Your Dream House"¬Ě, I will cover razing an existing building, , Complying With the OH&S Act by Testing and Tagging Electrical Appliances in Accordance of AS3760 performing site prep work, and pouring foundation walls. , Choosing The Right Custom Mailboxes Stay tuned"¬¶"¬¶"¬¶"¬¶"¬¶

For more help on building , Concrete Mixers - Types Of Concrete Mixersa new home, , Mobile Remodeling see HomeAdditionPlus.com's New Home , Fun Lighting ProjectsConstruction Bid sheet. The New Home , Mobile RemodelingConstruction Bid Sheet will help ensure that your new home , Linoleum Flooring: The Truth about Today's Linoleumconstruction project goes smoothly and is completed on time and budget.

Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com

Over the past 20+ years Mark Donovan has been involved with building homes , Using Reflective Roofing Materialsand additions to homes. , A Guide to Choosing Your Flooring Material His projects have included: building , The Ultimate Kitchen Sink Buying Guidea vacation home, , Classic decorating with empire furniture building , Computer Desks - How To Make The Most Of Your Workspaceadditions and garages , Lighting and Your Emotions (Part One)on to existing homes, , Affordable Saunas Really Do Exist and finishing unfinished homes. , Pre-drawn House plans the Benefits and Styles For more home , Solar Power: Becoming America's Choiceimprovement information , How to Plan for a Kitchen Remodeling or Renovation Projectvisit www.homeadditionplus.com and www.homeaddition.blogspot.com

What's Inside

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